Stay Right Even If He is Wrong

Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’” And David arose and secretly cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. Now it happened afterward that David’s heart troubled him because he had cut Saul’s robe. And he said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.” So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way.
1 Samuel 24:4-7

Sometimes your spouse is wrong. It might look like I miss that fact when I minister to wives, but trust me I know it to be true. Sometimes they are just dead wrong. Sometimes they say something they should not say or do something they should not do, and it is wrong. It hurts you, or it offends you. Your first response could be to lash out or do something wrong as well. After all, we have been conditioned to retaliate. We hurt so we want other to hurt, but can I challenge you today to do something different? Can you stay right even when the situation is wrong?

Like you, I have been on the receiving end of hurt, offense, and betrayal. I am not telling you what I have heard. I know firsthand the ups and downs in marriage. I know the joys of marriage when things are great, and I know the challenges of marriage when they aren’t. There have been times that John has said or done something that is wrong or offensive to me. It is at that point that I have a choice. I can respond based on my human nature or the nature of Christ. Many times I have made the wrong choice, but I have learned over time that my response effects me more than it does him.

David had a similar choice to make in 1 Samuel 24. Saul had hurt, offended, and betrayed him too. Saul took it to a totally different level — he actually tried to kill David. It would be pretty bad if I said he tried to kill David once, but Saul tried to kill David multiple times. What makes it even worse is David was trying to help and comfort Saul all the while. David has had to flee his home, hide in caves, and behave like a crazy man just to survive another day. Finally, David is presented with the chance to get Saul back. He finds Saul lying in a cave asleep, and this is the perfect opportunity to kill Saul. The men who were with him encouraged him to kill him. They even said that God had set this exact opportunity up for him. I’m sure every fiber of David’s being wanted Saul dead. No doubt he wanted the madness to end, but do you know what David did? He cut off a corner of Saul’s robe and walked away. Yes, you read it correctly…he walked away. See, David realized that he was not accountable to Saul. He was accountable to God. He also realized that God is an amazing vindicator. He will fight our battles for us…if we let Him! Do you realize that? Will you let God fight for you?

Saul was wrong in how he treated David, but David left Saul’s judgment up to God. He didn’t take matters into his own hands. He didn’t render evil for evil. He didn’t try to get even. He remained in right position with God. Let me encourage you today. God will take care of you. If you release bitterness, anger, resentment, and wanting to see people pay God will fix the situation. David not only walked away, but he covered Saul. I know that is a foreign concept in this day and age of exposure and everything posted or videoed, but we still need to cover our spouses. That doesn’t mean we excuse their wrongs, it means that we don’t rise up against them nor do we allow others to do so. Note in the verses above, David restrained his men from rising against Saul. Maybe you aren’t tempted to physically kill your spouse (I sure hope not), but your words could be doing a good job of assassinating their character or killing their spirit. Restrain yourself and others.

You will be presented with opportunities to practice this. Determine now that you will stay right in a wrong situation!